


band-aids and smoothies

by cryingtoast



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Bullying, F/F, Fluff, High School AU, a bit angsty, sachaeng is just so good
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-24 17:16:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17104799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cryingtoast/pseuds/cryingtoast
Summary: if Sana had known that looking into the art class cupboard would bring that much joy in her life, then she would have looked sooner.





	band-aids and smoothies

**Author's Note:**

> IM BACK BITCHES
> 
> ALSO TW !!! BULLYING AND VIOLENCE

Sana liked hanging out in the art classroom after school. She was often alone there, and it helped her lower her stress level whenever it was too high. Sometimes, there were other students, and she enjoyed making small talk with them. She wished her parents had let her join the art class, but they refused, and made her take extra maths classes instead. 

She wasn’t that good at painting or drawing, but it didn’t mean that she couldn’t enjoy it. 

So here she was, after pretty exhausting day : she had to yell at her incompetent lab partner to focus instead of flirting with the girls behind them, she didn’t eat anything at lunch since she managed to trip on her own foot and spilled everything on the floor, and she got a bad grade in history. What a day. 

She hurried to the classroom and hoped that no one would be there. She needed some alone time in her favorite place. She slid the door and smiled when she saw that she was going to be, indeed, alone. She let her backpack slide from her shoulder to the floor and stretched. She opened the window to let some fresh air fill the room before starting to gather what she needed to paint. 

She opened the cupboard, and totally did not expect to see another pair of eyes staring back at her. She took a step back, startled. 

« What the fu- »

« Ssh ! I’m hiding ! » the girl in the cupboard quickly closed it, and Sana just stood there, dumbfounded. Why was there a girl in the cupboard ? More importantly, how did she get in there ? She was going to open the cupboard again to ask her when someone violently opened the door of the classroom. She turned her head in the direction of the intruder. 

« Hey, you ! » the guy standing in the doorframe barked at her. « Did you see a short girl, short hair too, by any chance ? »

« No, I’m sorry. Did you try the other rooms around here ? I think I heard some footsteps earlier… » Sana didn’t know why, but she felt like something bad was going to happen if she told him she knew exactly where the girl was. She decided to help her.

« Ah, that brat. She found a good hiding spot this time, uh. » he angrily punched the wall and left the room, making sure the door slammed behind him. After seeing this, Sana knew she made the best decision. She waited a few seconds before opening the cupboard again. The girl inside bumped her head and whined when she tried to get out of it. Sana was going to offer her help when the strange girl managed to get out. 

« Thank you ! You saved me, stranger. » 

Short is the first word that came to Sana’s mind, and it was a good explanation to how the girl managed to hide in the cupboard. Her hair was cut above her shoulder, a little under her jaw, and she was wearing a sweater way too big for her, hiding her arms and hands and almost reaching her knees. She had worn out grey Converses with a few doodles on them as shoes, her backpack hanging from her left shoulder. 

«I have to go, maybe we’ll bump into each other in the future ? thanks again ! » 

« W-wait ! » but the girl was already gone. 

Sana tried to paint, she really did, but she couldn’t focus. she was too busy thinking about that cute girl and her mole under her lips. She checked the time, and decided to go home instead of not doing anything here. 

On her way to the school exit, she found an ID card on the floor. She immediately recognized the owner’s face and was glad that she could put a name on it. Son Chaeyoung. 

—— 

For the first time since the beginning of the school year, Sana was happy to go to school. She was going to see the weird girl again, and she had a good reason to talk to her this time. She went to the administration first : she needed to know in which class Chaeyoung was. From the ID card, she only had the information that the girl was a year younger than her, possibly one of the main reason why she had never seen her before. 

They told her in which class Chaeyoung was, and so she made her way to the 11th graders hallway. She had 10 minutes before the bell rang, and she hoped that the shorter girl would be here already. When she reached the classroom, she peaked inside, but didn’t see her. She asked some of the students inside, but no one had seen her either. Too bad, she was going to try again later. 

The bell rang, and she quickened her pace. While going up the stairs, she noticed someone in a hurry outside the window. She stopped after recognizing who it was. Chaeyoung was furiously pedaling to the bike stationary station of the school, panic on her face. Sana was going to open the window to call her, but the look on the younger girl face reminded her that if she did, she was going to be late too. 

She ran to her classroom, apologized to her teacher and quickly reached her seat. Someone tapped her shoulder, and she slightly turned around, showing that she was listening to the person who did it.

« What happened to you ? » whispered Momo, Sana’s best friend and partner in crime during any group projects. « Did you- »

« Miss Hirai ! » the teacher voice scared the two of them. « Minatozaki was late, and I don’t think she needs someone to distract her now. Pay attention, please. »

They both lowered their head and didn’t say a thing until the end of class. 

Sana kept checking the clock on the wall. She really wanted to see Chaeyoung again ; Their first meeting picked Sana’s interest, and she had a few questions she needed answers to. So when the bell finally rang again, she got up from her seat so fast she hit her knee and almost tripped on her chair. Momo scolded her for not being careful enough, but Sana didn’t listen, already making her way to the younger girl classroom. She was excited, but it died down when someone stopped right in front of her in the middle of the staircase. The audacity. 

« Sana, what a surprise to see you here ! »

« Move, Ye-Jun, I don’t have time to talk to you right now ! Plus we’re in the same school, how is it surprising ? » she glared at the tall guy standing in front of her. « I have better things to do than talking to you. » she tried to walk past him, but failed as other students were blocking her path. « oh, c’mon ! » she clenched on the ID card when she saw Chaeyoung in the flow of students. 

But the idiot in front of her wouldn’t stop talking, and there was too many people around her to shove him away, so she gave up when Chaeyoung disappeared from her sight. Was the universe against her, or something ? 

During lunch break, she finally got to talk to her. She was going to the cafeteria with her friends when she saw the shorter girl leaving the building. She asked her friends to not wait for her as she rushed to Chaeyoung. The younger girl heard her footsteps, and turned around. A wide smile appeared on her face when she saw Sana. 

« Hi stranger ! » she lightly bounced while reaching Sana. « How are you today ? Good, I hope. » 

Sana adjusted her glasses and handed Chaeyoung her ID card.

« Hey. I found this yesterday while leaving school. And I’m fine, thank you for asking. Hungry, though… » she looked down at the ground, not knowing what to do with herself. 

« Oh, thank you ! I didn’t even notice that it was gone. You’re saving my ass again. » Chaeyoung reached for her backpack and put her card back in its place. « you said you were hungry ? I’m not taking more of your time, then. You probably have friends waiting for you. I would have asked you to eat with me, you know, as a pay back, but I don’t think I have enough money for the two of us… »

« That’s - that’s fine. You can repay me later, don’t worry. »

« Ok. I’ll see you later, then. Bye ! » she waved as she left, running again. Was Chaeyoung a busy person, or something ? Sana’s mind wandered again, as she went back to her friends. Maybe one day she’ll be able to talk to the girl for more than 5 minutes. On her way, she saw the guy that was looking for the short girl the day before. This time, he was followed by 2 other boys and a girl. They were laughing, and the girl shot her a bad look when she noticed that Sana was staring at them. The Japanese girl lowered her head and walked faster, avoiding getting in trouble. 

Her afternoon classes flew by fast, mainly because her maths teacher was absent and she got to finish earlier. Momo offered to go and do some shopping, but Sana had other plans. She wanted to see if the art classroom was free at this hour. She left Momo, and happily walked over to said classroom. She was disappointed to see that it was busy, and that the art students still had one hour of class.

As her eyes scanned the room, she noticed a now familiar face. Chaeyoung was cautiously washing paintbrushes at the sink, and she stopped a second to take a photo of the colored water. At least, that’s what Sana assumed she was doing as she watched the younger girl put her phone back in her pocket, a smile on her face. But when the girl turned her head in Sana’s direction, she immediately hid, crouching on the floor. She didn’t want the other girl to think that she was a stalker. 

She stayed like that, sitting on the floor, waiting for the hour to pass. She got up when the bell rang, grabbed her bag and almost fell when she looked back up and was met with Chaeyoung’s face. 

« Oh, uh, hi, I was just — sorry ! Totally not spying on you ! » she touched her glasses, a bad habit when she was getting flustered. 

The girl in front of her laughed, clearly amused by the older girl reaction. 

« It’s alright. I know what you’re here for. You like to stay here after class, right ? » Sana looked at Chaeyoung with wide eyes. « oh, I wasn’t spying on you either ! I just saw you a few times when I passed by. I understand why you do it, it’s a nice room. » she looked back inside the classroom and hummed. « I wish I could stay here too. »

« Why don’t you ? » Sana asked curiously. Chaeyoung looked back at her, and she couldn’t read the expression on the girl face. 

« I… can’t. I have stuff to do at home. » 

Sana didn’t push, aware that Chaeyoung was not confortable talking about that yet. She can be clumsy, but very careful about what she lets out of her mouth. Think twice before talking, is what her mom always told her she was a kid. Words can be dangerous. 

« Well, then… I’ll be going. Bye, stranger ! » 

Chaeyoung walked past her, but this time, she wasn’t going to let her go. 

« Wait ! My name is Sana, stop calling me that, please. » she said, grabbing the straps of the younger girl’s bag. « And i’m leaving school with you, I don’t feel like staying here today anymore. Is that ok with you ? » she let go of the straps, and waited for Chaeyoung to react. 

The short girl looked at her, surprise in her eyes, but nodded and asked Sana to follow her. They made their way to Chaeyoung’s bike outside, and Sana stopped to snap a pic of a cat that ran past them. Chaeyoung made fun of her, but tried to call the cat so the older girl could take a better photo. She failed, and playfully hit Sana’s shoulder when she mocked her ; Sana thanked her afterwards. 

« Why do you use a bike to come to school ? »

« My parents work at the opposite direction of the school location, and I hate public transports. » 

Sana was going to ask Chaeyoung another question, when the shorter girl cursed and rushed to her bike. The back wheel was flat on the floor, and the bike was clearly unusable. Chaeyoung tried to remain calm, but Sana could see how she was clenching her fist. She thought about the weird looking guy earlier. 

« Chaeyoung, is it possible that someone did that ? On purpose ? »

« What ? No, no, no way. It’s fine. I rushed here this morning, maybe a rock did it, or something. It’s fine, I’ll walk. » 

« Are you sure you’ll be okay ? » Sana asked, her voice full of worry.

« Yes, Sana ! I’m not a kid ! » Chaeyoung snapped, looking angrily at Sana. « I don’t need you to worry about that. Please, go. I’ll take care of it. »

The older girl forgot about being nice to the other girl, and straightened. She did not deserve to be yelled at like that, over nothing. 

« Fine. Take care of yourself, then. Bye. » she said harshly, turning around and almost falling when she tripped on her own foot. She quickly gained her composure back, and left without looking back at Chaeyoung. 

 

— 

Sana felt bad the moment she stepped in her room. She hated having to speak in a rude tone to anyone, and usually managed to avoid any type of argument. Her dad told her multiple times that knowing how to defend yourself is important, that arguments can not be avoided forever. Sometimes, facing someone who’s against you can help you more than only sharing ideas with people who agree with you. Still. She hated it. 

However, it made her feel a little better. Maybe Chaeyoung would understand her reaction. 

She settled on her desk, opened her history textbook and started working to bring that bad grade up. 

\--- 

The next day, Momo joined her on her way to school. They took the subway and Momo offered Sana a piece of the bread she bought on her way. Sana accepted, well aware of her best friend’s amazing tastes when it came to food. Momo always surprised her with new interesting places to eat to when they had free time. Recently, she took her to an amazing smoothie place that opened a few months ago not too far from their school. It was good, and not too expensive either. 

Sana noticed the weird guy talking to Chaeyoung at the school gates. She thought about saying hi, but hesitated when she saw the shorter girl laugh. Maybe that guy was her friend after all. Her gaze left Chaeyoung, and her attention was back on Momo. 

Her morning classes went by slowly, as she tried to focus, but she was too tired to do so. Maybe binge watching that serie after dinner and her homework yesterday was not a good idea. Momo was apparently bored too, as Sana heard her snore a little. She almost woke her friend up, but she knew how Momo could be if you interrupted her naps, so she let her sleep. 

When the bell for the morning break rang, she sighed loudly and took off her glasses to clean them. She had been playing with them too much these past few days ; her habit was getting worst. Maybe talking about it with her mom could help. She was going to wake up Momo when someone called her. 

« Sana ! Someone wants to talk to you. A 11th grader ! » 

Sana’s face lit up when she realized that Chaeyoung was looking at her from the door of their class. She shook Momo’s shoulders before getting up and walking over to the short girl. Sana thanked the girl who let her know about Chaeyoung before leaving with the short girl. 

« Hi Chaeng ! » the younger girl looked at her with a weird face. « do you not like the nickname ? I can call you by your name if you prefer. » Chaeyoung shook her head, avoiding Sana’s gaze. « Alright. Did you want to tell me something ? »

They stopped near a window, a full view of the school playground in front of them. You could hear the sounds of students talking and a basket ball bouncing. Sana slightly opened the window, not too much, or else she was afraid of not being able to hear what Chaeyoung had to say to her. She put her hand through the opening and played with the flowers that flew to the window’s edge. 

« You’re not mad ? About yesterday ? » 

Sana noticed how weak the voice of the girl next to her sounded, and turned her head towards her. Chaeyoung looked up at her, her arms crossed across her chest, her big yellow sweater covering her hands like the first time they met. 

« No, I’m not. You were angry, your reaction was… » Sana thought a little before choosing her next word. « justified. »

« It was not. » the short girl huffed. « you were just being nice, and I snapped at you like that. I’m sorry. » 

« Apologies accepted ! » Sana smiled wide, happy that the other was the one who made the first step. She ruffled Chaeyoung’s short hair, who jumped at the action. « Sorry ! » 

« Please don’t touch my hair without asking first… » Chaeyoung mumbled, patting her own head. 

« Sure. »

Sana was a touchy-feely person, but she knew how to keep boundaries when people asked her. She closed the window and the two girls parted ways, going back to their respective classrooms. As soon as Sana reached her seat, Momo appeared out of thin air and looked at her with pleading eyes. 

« What do you want ? I don’t have f- »

« Who was that ? I knew you were popular with girls in our grade, but younger ones ? And she was cute. Did you say yes ? Please, so that random dudes stop hitting on you in the cafeteria… » 

« What ? Wait, there’s a misunderstanding. She didn’t come here to confess to me, god. » Sana put her head on her hands. She knew she was popular, but how could Momo assume something like that !

« Then what ? Did she owe you something ? » Momo tapped her head with her notebook. « I’m curious ! »

« She just wanted to apologize. I left school with her yesterday and she got mad when we reached her bike, one of the wheel had a hole. So she kind off snapped at me when I asked her if she was going to be ok… » Sana looked at Momo, her hands leaving her face. She almost touched her glasses, but stopped herself.

« Who is she, anyway ? » 

« I don’t really know, we met two days ago. She’s one year younger than us, she takes art classes. »

« Oh, okay. Isn’t she the girl who was hanging out with Jung-Hwa this morning ? » 

« Who ? » Sana grabbed Momo’s arm ; she needed to know more about that weird dude more than anything.

« I just know his name though. Ask Nayeon during lunch break. She’s the gossip queen, after all. » 

Sana nodded, but she knew it wasn’t going to be that easy. Nayeon knew a lot, but never gave informations for free, always asking for a new gossip in exchange or food, money… the things she needed at the moment. Sana was already planning on buying her snacks from the food dispenser. It should be enough. 

However, it seemed that Nayeon was absent today. Sana asked the people she usually saw her with if something happened. Only a bad cold apparently. She asked them about Jung-Hwa, but no one gave her a satisfying answer. She went back to her friends, Momo yelping in joy at the sight of the treats Sana bought for Nayeon. 

She didn’t see Chaeyoung during the rest of the day, and couldn’t go to the art classroom at the end of the day : her mother requested help at home, and she really had to be there. 

——

Nayeon was not back the next day, so she decided to ask the other people she knew would have an answer : the student council. It wasn’t going to be easy either. She needed a good reason to ask them, or else they were going to get suspicious. 

Didn’t take her long to find the president. That girl, Jihyo, was always with her girlfriend Mina and their third wheeling best friend Jeongyeon, two other members of the council, under the bleachers when they didn’t have class (to tell you the truth, Sana was almost sure that the three of them were dating, but she never talked about it, afraid of spreading false rumors). 

« Hello Sana ! » joyfully greeted Jihyo. « still not ok with joining the student council ? I’m sure that you would do great work. »

The president had asked her to join for the first time last year, when she somehow handled the drama club disaster (a story for another time) and then again at the beginning of this year when she noticed how popular Sana was (« if you join, people might leave you alone a bit. Or better, they could help the council more ! » that earned a slap on her arm from Mina). 

« No, thank you for the offer again, though. »

« Do you need something from us, perhaps ? » Mina asked, seeing right through Sana. 

« Yes. »

« Is it about another student ? » the interrogation continued. 

« Y-yes. » Mina eyed Jihyo, put Jeongyeon was faster. 

« You look worried. We usually don’t tell things easily, but it looks important. Did something happen ? Did Nayeon come back and spread new rumors ? »

Sana bit her bottom lip and told the trio about her worries. They indeed knew Jung-Hwa, but nothing was signaled against him. She learnt that he was the captain of the baseball team, and one of the students that helped the council the most. Nothing to worry about. It didn’t stop Sana from being suspicious. She heard countless of stories of how that one guy who killed his wife was nice and charming with everyone, someone you wouldn’t think could kill. She saw how violent Jung-Hwa could be. 

She was worried about Chaeyoung.

She didn’t get a chance to see the girl before the weekend, as the 11th graders taking art classes went to see a new exhibit in town. At least she didn’t have to worry much about Jung-Hwa. She hoped that Nayeon would be back on Monday ; She really needed to talk to her. 

—

Sana spent her Saturday morning wondering about how she was going to get closer to Chaeyoung. Art was her first idea, obviously. If she wanted to know if the younger girl was suffering from stupid pranks like what happened to her bike, she needed her trust. Art supplies, maybe ? Too expensive. She really needed to find a job soon. Exhibitions ? Why not, but their town didn’t have that many art places to visit. And their school made sure that the students, like on Friday, had seen every new ones. So that was a no too. Asking Chaeyoung to teach her how to draw ? yes, but not on school grounds, to avoid Jung-Hwa. 

Not in her house either, or she was sure Chaeyoung would get suspicious. The park, maybe or a café. She nodded at her own thoughts and wrote down her ideas on her notebook. 

What else ? Movies ! She was pretty sure she saw a Black Panther pin on the younger girl bag. Superheroes movies, then. 

She realized she didn’t know much about Chaeyoung, since they didn’t get the time to talk during the end of the week. She called Momo after lunch to see if her ideas were good, and almost slapped herself when her best friend told her that it sounded a lot like she wanted to go on dates with Chaeyoung. 

« It’s not like that ! I’m trying to see if-  » she stopped herself. Telling Momo about her theories on Jung-Hwa might not be a good idea. At least, not yet. And, dates ? 

« Hey, are you still here ? » she didn’t answer her friend, opening her window door and stepping in the balcony. « ok, I know you’re still there, so I’m just gonna talk about, whatever, I’m bored. » 

She put her phone on speaker and sat on the side of the balcony, her back against the rung, her legs under the sun and her face protected by the shadows of the trees. She needed some time to clear her mind after realizing that she, in fact, wanted to take Chaeyoung on a date. She took a deep breath, and the scents of the flowers filled her nose. She loved spring and how everything was suddenly more colorful, more lively. How she could hear children having fun in the playground a few houses away, how birds stopped by her balcony and how smoothies tasted better under the sun. 

She almost fell asleep to Momo rambling and the nice little breeze, but she heard her mother call her form downstairs, and she got up after understanding that her mom wanted her to go and do some grocery shopping. 

Sana grabbed her keys, some money and her earbuds, and left the house. She greeted the old woman who lived in front of their house when she saw her watching over the street form her window. On her way, she also got to pet two beautiful dogs that belonged to the foreign family a few streets away. Sana managed to bring her English grades up thanks to the children, who agreed to help her if she was going to help them with Korean. 

Everything was good, Jung-Hwa was not on Sana’s mind anymore. Instead, she was just wondering about what she was going to do on Sunday, when she got an illumination : why not bake something for Chaeyoung ? Cookies, or something like ? Not too difficult to cook, since she was a disaster in the kitchen. Her mom forbade her to try and cook alone since she almost burned the house down with Momo a few years ago. 

She got everything her mom asked for and what she needed at the convenience store and quickly made her way back home. 

It rained on Sunday. Sana asked herself how spring could go from sunny to rainy in a day. She didn’t let the rain bring her mood down, though, and worked hard to bake good cookies for Chaeyoung. In the end, they were a little burnt on the sides, there was too much chocolate on some of them, but she was satisfied with herself. She wrote a little note before throwing it away, thinking that it was a little too much. 

She went to sleep with a smile on her face, feeling proud and looking forward to seeing Chaeyoung the next morning. 

— 

She jumped form her bed the moment her alarm bell rang. Being late today was not an option. She had to welcome Chaeyoung before Jung-Hwa, and that meant going to school earlier.

She put the cookies in her bag, quickly hugged her father who was having breakfast in the dining room, and left the house. the subway was less crowded than during the usual time she took it, and she was thankful to find a place to sit. 

A few people were already gathering around the school entrance, but no Chaeyoung or Jung-Hwa in sight. She rested her back against the wall, and waited. Waited and waited, until it was time for her to go to class. She decided to wait a little more. she didn’t know if Chaeyoung got the chance to repair her bike, so she assumed that girl was going to be late, since she had to walk. She didn’t mind being late either, she had Korean class and the teacher liked her.

After a short while, she heard someone panting and coming in her direction. Chaeyoung was breathing heavily, squeezing her backpack in front of her chest, her short hair tied in a little ponytail. She slowed down when she recognized Sana. The taller girl grabbed her bag to help her a little, and they walked to the school building, Chaeyoung regaining her breath. 

Before they parted ways, Sana handed her the box of cookies, and Chaeyoung looked at it with wide eyes. She bowed to Sana multiple times as thanks, and Sana bowed back, too embarrassed to do anything else. They stopped at the same time and giggled when their eyes locked. The moment was broken when Chaeyoung started to panic about being late. 

Sana gave her her backpack, and they left to their respective classes. Sana was happy ; she felt like she had done a big achievement. Like her nerd cousin would say, ‘trophy unlocked : giving cookies to Chaeng’. She smiled at the thought and could feel the happiness still bubbling in her chest the whole morning. 

However, she did not feel the same way anymore when she didn’t find Chaeyoung during lunch break, nor Nayeon, but noticed one particular gang of rough looking students eating cookies from a box she could easily recognize. She touched her glasses, feeling nervous. Did the young girl give them to Jung-Hwa ? Why would she do that ? Did she even got to taste them ? 

She felt a hand on her shoulder and almost elbow-kicked the person behind her. 

« Hey, calm down ! It’s Jihyo ! »

« Oh, sorry. You… » she noticed Mina and Jeongyeon a few steps behind the president. « do you need something ? »

« Yes. We saw you stupidly standing here- » a scoff from Sana « - staring at nothing and that worried me. Are you alright ? »

« I’m okay. Have you seen Chaeyoung, by any chance ? She’s an 11th grader, short, usually wearing oversized sweater, taking art classes ? »

« That’s a lot of details, and I see who you’re talking about, but no. She wasn’t in class this morning, Tzuyu told me. »

« But I saw her at the school gate ? This is ridiculous. » Sana told Jihyo, playing with her glasses again « where can I find that Tzuyu you’re talking about though ? »

The president told her that she was probably at the cafeteria, and grabbed Sana’s hand to stop her touching her glasses. She also told her to look for a tall girl with a poker face, hanging out with Dahyun, the drama club president. Sana knew who that was : she met her during the accident last year. She thanked Jihyo and made her way back to the cafeteria, as Jung-Hwa apparently left while she was talking to the president : he and his friends were not where she spotted them anymore. She hoped to get useful informations from Tzuyu. She was feeling herself getting angrier at the thought of the supposed-bully eating the cookies she made specially for her new friend. 

Sana easily found Tzuyu. It was not difficult since she ran into her the moment she stepped a foot in the cafeteria. They collided, and Sana was glad that Dahyun was also here : the pale girl reacted quickly and grabbed her wrist before any damages could be done. Tzuyu somehow took the impact and was looking down at Sana with an unbothered look on her face. 

« Sana unnie ! » Dahyun let go of her wrist. « it’s been a while since we last saw each other ! How are you ? Did Jihyo manage to make you join her cult ? »

« A cult ? »

« The student council, Tzuyu-ah »

« Oh. »

Sana chuckled at the interaction. Dahyun was a nice girl, and Tzuyu seemed like she was one of those people you thought were rude at first, but really soft once you got to know them. 

« No, I probably will never join. Too many responsibilities I’m not ready for ! » Dahyun nodded ; as the drama club president, she knew what Sana was talking about. « actually, I wanted to talk to Tzuyu… »

The tall girl pointed at herself. 

« Uh, okay. What is it ? »

« Are you in the same class as Chaeyoung ? you told Jihyo that she was not here this morning. I really need to talk to her, do you know anything ? »

The two younger girls shared a look and Tzuyu shook her head. She told Sana that she didn’t know, that she saw Chaeyoung reach the classroom but turned around before going in, acting like someone called her. They didn’t see Chaeyoung afterwards, and didn’t get any news from her. Sana asked if they had her number, and Dahyun gave it to her. She thanked them, and Tzuyu asked her if she could tell them in case anything bad had happened. She promised, and went back outside. 

She called the number twice, no one picked up. She kept calling and decided to go around the school. She had a feeling her friend was still here. 

She was going to give up and go back to Momo when she heard a phone ring when she called again. Sana was near the tennis court, and no one was around. She followed the sound, and found Chaeyoung, sitting on the floor, her back against the storage room, her head in her arms. Her phone was on the floor next to her, ringing. 

Sana hung up and quietly walked over to Chaeyoung. She sat near her, taking the girl’s phone. No reaction. she was going to gently put her hand on the short girl shoulder, but stopped when she noticed Chaeyoung’s knees. 

A few bruises were visible, along with 2 band-aids on the right, 1 on the left. Sana could see a little bit of blood under one of them. She moved and sat in front of Chaeyoung, her fingers lightly brushing the younger girl’s legs. That got a reaction. 

Chaeyoung lifted her head and finally looked at Sana. Her eyes were red and she had a small cut underneath her right eye. Sana reached for it in a protective instinct, but Chaeyoung stopped her, shaking her head. She lowered it again and sighed. Sana didn’t know what to do ; something happened to her friend, but she was too scared to ask anything, afraid of saying something offensive. 

She clenched her hands on her t-shirt and bit her lip. She was going to speak up when the girl in front of her got up, landing her a hand to stand up. 

« I’m sorry, Sana unnie. I was on my way to you during our morning break, but I fell and dropped the box of cookies you gave me this morning. It was not there anymore when I got back up. I, I think someone took it. »

Chaeyoung was lying to her, and Sana was hurt that the younger girl didn’t trust her yet. She silently reached for her hand, and Chaeyoung didn’t say anything, so she gently grabbed it. 

« It’s fine. They probably weren’t good anyway, I’m not that great of a cook. Let’s do something else instead : after school, I’m taking you out. We’re getting smoothies and then we’ll hang out at the park. There’s a few things I want to talk to you about. » she ran her thumb across the hand she was holding. « is that okay with you ? » 

Chaeyoung looked at her with a look she couldn’t really understand. Sana smiled when the girl nodded, and she felt the shorter girl squeeze her hand a little. Maybe Chaeyoung was not ready to talk about her situation to Sana yet, but she accepted and returned her affection, and it was enough. 

——

Sana paid attention during her last classes of the day. She was less worried, knowing that Chaeyoung would be with her after school. She hoped that they wouldn’t run into Jung-Hwa, and had asked Tzuyu and Dahyun to join the short girl to the entrance, to avoid any more issues. She quickly took note of the homework when her maths class ended, and went to talk to the teacher before leaving. 

He asked her what was her plans after high school. He praised her for her grades in his class, and wondered if she was going to pursue a scientific path in the future. 

She hesitated before answering him. Her wish was to join an art university, and learn about fashion design, but she feared that he would tell her parents, and that was a situation she was not ready to face yet. Sana finally decided that it was best to say that she was still hesitating. The teacher told her to chose wisely, or else she was going to regret it. 

She agreed, bowed and left, waving at Momo who had to stay to work on a school project. 

She ran to the entrance, her face lighting up when she saw Chaeyoung waiting for her, Dahyun and Tzuyu at her sides. However, Sana being the clumsy person she is, managed to trip on a rock and fell, her hands stopping her face to hit the ground. Her knees took the impact, and she winced at the feeling. She heard footsteps coming in her direction, and looked up to see Chaeyoung’s worried face. 

The short girl asked her to sit on the floor, and reached for her bag. She took a small box out of it, and opened it to reveal various types of band-aids. She asked Sana which one she wanted for her injured knee ; She chose a pink one with flowers, and put it over the cut after Dahyun offered her a wet tissue to wipe the small drops of blood. 

Chaeyoung scolded her when she said that they were matching, with their cute band-aids on their knees.

« Injuries are not a something to laugh at, especially when you’re clumsy… please be more careful ! »

She got up with Tzuyu help, and thanked the three younger girls for taking care of her. 

Chaeyoung and Sana left Dahyun and Tzuyu halfway through the street, not going in the same direction. It didn’t take long for them to reach the smoothie place, and Sana was glad to see that not many people were there. They were looking at the different flavors proposed by the place, and Sana suggested multi-fruit when she noticed that Chaeyoung was hesitating. 

The short girl furrowed her brows, pouting a little, and told the older girl that she didn’t like multiple fruit miked together that much. In the end, she opted for the strawberry smoothie, and Sana chose her own recommendation. 

They found a nice spot at the park, not too exposed to the sun nor too close to the children playground, a bench under a tree. 

Sana started the conversation by asking about Chaeyougn’s interest. The short girl told her that she loved to draw, and had filled a number of sketchbook so high she couldn’t remember how many it was. She liked to draw a lot of different topics : people, strangers or her family, flowers, animals, unidentified things from her imagination… 

« Anything you see as beautiful ? »

« Every thing has its own beauty, Sana. Even if sometimes, it’s not easy to see it. » 

Chaeyoung talked about how her parents were against her choice of wanting to be an artist at first, but eventually accepted it after her brother and her art teacher managed to convince them. Sana asked about Chaeyoung’s brother, and learned that he was an aspiring model, even at his young age. Sana was happy to know that the two siblings were supporting each other a lot.

Chaeyoung asked when Sana moved to Korea from Japan. She had to explain that she guessed it from her surname when the older girl mockingly accused her of being a stalker. Sana spoke about how her parents had to move there when she was 10, after her father got an important position in his company. She met Momo during her first year of school in Korea, and they had been best friends since then. 

Sana asked if she could taste the strawberry smoothie, and Chaeyoung let her. She wrapped her hand around the younger girl’s one to secure the grip around the (gobelet), and hoped that she didn’t cross any boundaries. Chaeyoung didn’t react, so she let her hand in its place. She took a sip of the drink through the straw, and a smile made its way on her lips when she discovered how much she liked the taste. 

« It’s good ! You have nice tastes, Chaeng. » the girl nodded. «  if I have enough time to cook you something else this weekend, I’ll try to make some smoothie. I think my mother has a good recipe… » 

« Oh, no ! You’ve done a lot already. How am I going to thank you if you keep adding things to the list ? » Chaeyoung looked slightly panicked.

« Actually, there’s something you can do. » she got a hopeful look from her friend, and took a sip of her smoothie before going further. « Two things. First, teach me how to draw. We can stay in the art class room when you have time. »

Chaeyoung nodded, apparently ok with the request. 

« Second, you tell me about Jung-Hwa and what’s he’s been doing to you. » 

A stronger grip on the smoothie, a forced smile and another nod. 

—— 

Back home, Sana wondered if she had asked too soon. But Chaeyoung didn’t reject it, so maybe it was okay. 

They stopped their little ‘date’ not long after she mentioned Jung-Hwa, since Chaeyoung seemed to be less eager to speak with Sana afterwards. The Japanese girl was a little disappointed, but understood her friend reaction. Chaeyoung asked her how she got her number before they left each other. 

« I got it from Dahyun and Tzuyu. Try to befriend them, Chaeng ! They’re both really nice. » 

The short girl promised she was going to try, but it lacked energy when she said it. 

Sana hoped that she didn’t screw everything up, and gave all her attention to her homework, to avoir thinking too much about the situation. 

She later texted Chaeyoung about their little art tutorials arrangement, and sighed in relief when she got a fast answer. Chaeyoung was available on Tuesdays and Fridays, meaning that they would see each other tomorrow. She asked Sana to bring a sketchbook, and added that she could give her one if she hadn’t any. Sana said that It wasn’t needed. 

They texted each other good night, and Sana called Momo before going to sleep. Hearing her best friend voice gave her reassurance, and the whole situation appeared to be less difficult and stressful when she talked about it with Momo. She told herself that she was lucky to have someone like her by her side. 

Nothing disturbed her sleep that night. 

—— 

She almost forgot her sketchbook when she left for school the next day. 

On her way, she decided to buy snacks for herself and for Chaeyoung. She also thought about Nayeon and how the gossip queen could be back today, so she got more than she originally intended. It started to rain when she left the convenience store, forcing her to run to school. 

The rain started to pour harder and harder, and Sana believed that she was never going to make it to school without tripping or dropping the snacks, when it suddenly stopped above her. An umbrella appeared in her field of vision, and she was grateful to whoever decided to protect her. Her heart fluttered when she realized that Chaeyoung was the one holding it next to her. 

The short girl was grinning, and joyfully said that she finally managed to help Sana, and not the other way around. The Japanese girl really hoped that her theory of Chaeyoung suffering from bullying was wrong. How could someone want to hurt a girl sweet, cute and caring like her ? 

The umbrella stopped Sana from running, but that didn’t help her avoid almost walking into a pole, since she was too focused looking at Chaeyoung’s side profile and the dimple on her cheek when she smiled. The short girl grabbed her arm and pulled her before the collision could happen. In the process, Chaeyoung accidentally hit her with the umbrella.

« Would you like me to hold it ? I’m taller than you. You can take the snacks if you want. »

The younger girl acted as if Sana offended her with her height comment, but the Japanese girl could see that her friend was only acting. She laughed and gave the snacks to Chaeyoung before taking the umbrella from her. She shivered, her wet clothes sticking to her skin. She told Chaeyoung that she had gym class today and that she was just going to change into them once they reached the school. 

The short girl offered to clean Sana’s glasses after putting the snacks in her bag, and the Japanese girl accepted and leaned towards Chaeyoung to let her reach the glasses. She swore her heart beat a little faster than usual when she felt the other girl’s fingers lightly brush her face to take the glasses. She was staring at the shorter girl in front of her, admiring her concentrated frown and smiling at the way Chaeyoung stuck the tip of her tongue out. 

Chaeyoung carefully wiped them before putting them back on her face and let out a satisfied hum.

« You look pretty with and without glasses, no wonder you’re popular. Come on, let’s go. » 

Sana had received this compliment multiple times in her life, but she was pretty sure Chaeyoung was the only one that made her blush like that after saying it. 

They got to school in time, and Chaeyoung didn’t expect Dahyun and Tzuyu to be waiting for her at the entrance. Sana told her to go with them and almost gave her a quick hug but stopped herself when she remembered that Chaeyoung was not as affectionate as her. She waved at Dahyun and Tzuyu, left the three younger girls, and ran inside the building. She looked back before closing the door behind her. 

Tzuyu was holding the umbrella above them, and Dahyun was mimicking what she was telling Chaeyoung, over dramatically and with a lot of actress spirit. The pale girl almost punched Tzuyu, who shot her a death glare, and Sana heard Chaeyoung laugh. She was happy to see that the short girl was getting along with the two others. She needed friends, and Sana knew that Tzuyu and Dahyun were perfect for her. 

She closed the door and texted Momo that she was here. 

——

It was still raining when Sana entered the art classroom at the end of the day. Chaeyoung was not here yet, allowing her time to organize the room a little bit. When she was done, she opened the window like she always did, letting fresh air and the scent of rain outside fill the room. 

She settled next to the open window, her left elbow resting on the frame and her right arm extended outside, letting the rain drop on her hand. She wondered if she was going to find chaeyoung in the cupboard again, but she was in a nice position and too tired to move. 

She slightly turned her head when she heard the sliding door open, and smiled when she saw the little artist come in the room. 

« I’m sorry, I’m late ! Dahyun was trying to convince me to join the drama club, and I had to tell her that I was going to think about it for her to let me go. » 

« I know the struggle. » Sana chuckled, Jihyo popping into her mind. 

She left the window and gestured for Chaeyoung to take a a seat at the table, but the younger girl shook her head and told her to grab a chair and go back to where she was before. Sana did as she was told, and Chaeyoung joined her. 

« Since you seem to like looking outside windows, we’ll use the flowers and trees in front of us as our first drawing topic. » Sana nodded. Chaeyoung sounded really professional, and the Japanese girl was impressed. « we’ll focus on the branches first, then what’s around them. Simply try drawing what’s in front of you. I’ll give you tips afterwards. » 

Sana was determined to make Chaeyoung proud of her, and tried her best. The sound of the rain mixed with their pencils on the paper, the occasional rustling of the snacks bag when one of them took something from it and the fresh air made her feel more peaceful that she had ever felt in a long time. Even if she had time to (décontracte) last weekend, she felt better here. 

They had been drawing for about 20 minutes when she heard Chaeyoung sigh and saw her stretch from the corner of her eyes ; She guessed that the girl was finished, and decided to put her own pencil down. 

The shorter girl looked at her, her head titled to the left, a small smile on her lips. She extended a hand, asking for Sana sketchbook. The girl agreed, but Chaeyoung had to show hers. They swapped, and Sana admired in awe the details of the flowers and the water drops, Chaeyoung’s thin lines. She was afraid of breaking the page if she was too rough, and gently, as gently as she could, traced the branches with her fingertips. 

She blinked a few times before turning towards Chaeyoung, ready to compliment her, but couldn’t let out a word when she saw how wide the smile of her friend was. She was holding Sana’s sketchbook in front of her face, comparing the view outside the window and what Sana has drawn. 

« This is good. There’s a few things to work on, but still, I’m impressed. I like how you switch from thick lines to (fine) ones, it gives a good contrast to the scene. Even if it’s possible that you didn’t do it on purpose, it’s nice.» Chaeyoung lowered the sketchbook, took her pencil and wrote something in the corner of the drawing. « There. I give you an A because it’s good, there’s effort and I like you. That shouldn’t be a judging factor, but I don’t care. » 

Sana felt like she had been praised by the Gods. 

« Thank you. » she couldn’t stop smiling and kept her eyes on Chaeyoung’s drawing to avoid the other girl gaze. « I like yours a lot too. I don’t think I have enough artistic vocabulary to express how good it is, though. »

« You can keep it if you want. » Sana lifted her head. 

« Really ? »

« Yes. Just tear the page, quickly, so that the paper doesn’t break. » she did so, gave Chaeyoung her sketchbook back, and held the drawing close to her chest. « now, I’m going to add what you can do to improve on the back of you drawing, if you don’t mind. » 

She bit the inside of her cheek to avoid squealing, happiness taking over her body. She told Chaeyoung that it was ok, and patiently waited. 

Her happiness died down when she remembered that she could ask about Jung-Hwa. Would her friend answer ? She hoped so, and the words left her mouth before she proceeded it herself. 

« Why do you wear wide sweaters all the time ? Is it related to Jung-Hwa ? » she greeted her teeth, ready for Chaeyoung to slap her or something like that. 

The younger girl had stopped writing the moment she heard the boy’s name. She stayed silent for a few seconds, before giving back the sketchbook to Sana. She got up and closed the window, took a candy from the snack bag, shoved it into her mouth and looked at Sana. She was playing with the straps of her hoodie, and it reminded Sana of herself and her glasses. 

« I guess I owe you an explanation. » Chaeyoung proceeded to crack her knuckles, and apologized when she saw Sana wince. « Could you help me lift the sweater up ? I need to take it off. »

Sana eyes widened at the request, and she gripped the arms of the chair, afraid she had misunderstood Chaeyoung. 

« Please ? » the short girl said with a pleading tone « before I lose my confidence. »

She got up and, hands shaking, started lifting the younger girl sweater. She stopped at her chest level, too nervous. It revealed a plain white t-shirt, and she let Chaeyoung take care of what was left to take out : her head and her arms. this time, Sana couldn’t stop the gasp that escaped her lips. 

Chaeyoun’s arms were covered in bruises, some bigger than others, and Sana could also see scratch marks. A few scars still healing here and there, band-aids, blue. All Sana could see was blue, purple and yellow covering the younger girl from her wrists to her shoulders. 

At first, she felt angry, angry towards Jung-Hwa, angry at herself for not putting more effort into busting him. Then, she felt sad, for Chaeyoung, for the bullies that were too stupid to realize how much damage they had done. But now, she was feeling grateful that she girl opened up to her, and she felt determined to protect the shorter girl at all cost. She wanted to cry, too, but that was meant for another time, as she watched Chaeyoung wrapping her arms around herself, looking even more distressed and small than before. 

Sana stepped closer, whispered if it was okay for her to touch Chaeyoung and wrapped her arms around the younger girl’s neck when she got an affirmation. She felt Chaeyoung wrap her arms around her back, clenching on her shirt. She softly let her right hand ran through Chaeyoung’s short hair, and drew round, soothing pattern on the girl back when the girl in her arms started crying. She took a deep breath and held the girl tighter, feeling like Chaeyoung was going to vanish if she didn’t. 

They stayed like that for a while, Chaeyoung sobs filling the room, taking the role of the rain that had stopped outside. Sana looked at her reflection on the window and promised herself that Jung-Hwa was going to pay for this someday. 

—— 

That day came faster than she had planned. 

Dahyun, Tzuyu, Sana and now Momo always managed to stay with Chaeyoung, at least one of them at her side. However, before one of their drawing session on a Friday, no one could stay with her, their schedules not lining up. Sana was worried sick when she realized that Chaeyoung was almost 30 minutes late. Fear was taking over her, and she was tapping her foot nervously when she heard screaming outside. 

She didn’t think twice before rushing out, a big can of paint under her arm. She ran as fast as she could to the direction of the sound, and managed to send a group text to her friends at the same time. 

Her vision almost turned red when she reached a group of student beating someone in the middle of the school yard. Chaeyoung. The girl couldn’t move, a guy holding her by her hair on the ground, two others kicking her, and Jung-Hwa keeping her legs from moving. Students around them were filming, not doing anything else, and that drove Sana to an anger she didn’t know she could feel. 

She opened the can of paint, threw it over the bullies, and hit Jung-Hwa in the head as hard as she could with the empty can, multiple times. Everything was a blur. She could hear people screaming around her, telling her to stop, but she didn’t care. Jung-Hwa was under her on the ground and she wasn’t going to let the opportunity go. 

She punched him, heard his nose crack under her fists, saw the blood, but didn’t stop. She got punched, too, and it hurted like hell, but not as much as seeing Chaeyoung getting beaten up. 

She felt arms pulling her off the bully, and still managed to kick him with her feet a few times before someone pulled him away. Everything was happening in slow motion around her. Jung-Hwa unconscious on the floor, the crowd staring at her, Jihyo yelling at everyone to leave. Chaeyoung knocked out too. She let darkness take over her vision, the pain she felt on her face slowly going away. 

Her last thought was that her glasses were probably broken now. 

—— 

Sana woke up with a throbbing head a few hours later, in an hospital room. She wondered if she had gone blind from fight when she opened her eyes and she coudn’t see anything from her right eye. She slowly reached that area with her hand, and sighed in relief when she discovered that it was only a bandage. She probably got a back eye from the punches.

She closed her eyes again, memories from the fight flooding her mind. The sound of the room opening teared her from her thoughts. 

Momo entered the room, not looking happy at all. She took a seat next to Sana and grabbed her best friend’s hand. 

« Why would you do that ? »

Sana didn’t answer right away. She gripped on Momo’s hand and whispered that she couldn’t let Jung-Hwa hurt Chaeyoung more. Momo nodded and Sana asked her about the others situation. She learned that the boy had woken up before her and was talking with Jihyo and the school headmaster with his parents a few rooms away. Chaeyoung was ok, apart from the bump on her head and the new bruises on her body. 

They stayed quiet for a little while, until Momo spoke up. 

« Was it worth it ? »

« Yes. Definitely. » 

—- 

A few days passed by since the accident. 

Jung-Hwa got kicked out of the school along with his friends, Sana got a few hours of detention for her behavior, and Chaeyoung, with the student council help, organized an awareness day for bullying. The headmaster of the school made a speech about how he was disappointed by his students reaction, and apologized for not taking any mesures earlier. 

Jihyo kept apologizing to Chaeyoung and Sana for weeks after the school discovered that Jung-Hwa had bullied other students before (Nayeon helped a lot). She felt like she had failed her job as the student council president, failing to notice what was really going on with the guy she thought was nice. It took them a while to convince her that it was okay, that she was great at what she was supposed to do and that the issue was resolved now. 

Dahyun managed to make Chaeyoung join the drama club, along with Tzuyu, who also earned a bad habit of telling her two friends that ‘Momo unnie just likes to take me to restaurants and hang out with me outside of school, we’re not dating !’ almost every day. 

Sana convinced her parents to let her join an art university after graduation with her friends help, and got so happy she decided to join the student council for the last few months of their school year. Jihyo had welcomed her with a crushing hug, and she got a few glares from Mina and Jeongyeon, but they also gladly accepted her help. 

Some things never changed, like the taste of the strawberry smoothies they liked to drink together under the sun or the box of band-aids in Chaeyoung’s bag for clumsy Sana. 

But now, they shared kisses in the art classroom, Chaeyoung’s bike always had a second passenger, and Sana could finally doodle on her girlfriend’s arms.

**Author's Note:**

> my twitter is @chaengtoast uwu


End file.
